


Four O'Clock Flower

by Tokilock



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 12:32:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15170843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tokilock/pseuds/Tokilock
Summary: Haruka is a young woman who lives in a small village. One day her grandmother sends her off to gather food, and ends up in a rain storm. In the middle of the storm, she stumbles across an old mansion, where she meets a mysterious man with a dark secret.





	Four O'Clock Flower

Haruka didn’t even notice it was raining until the first drop had hit the tip of her nose. When she had woken up that morning, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and her grandmother had deemed it a perfect day for the young woman to get out of the house and head into the forest to collect wild berries and herbs. Haruka had seemed to be in perfect health that morning but now..

 

The rain only seemed to be getting heavier. She’d sought shelter underneath a tree, but rain was dripping through the cracks in the leaves. She’d only been armed with a basket which was now full of what she’d been gathering, a little too heavy to lift over her head. “What should I do..” She mused aloud, suddenly caught off guard by a clap of thunder, causing her to jump. Right. She had to find  _ proper _ shelter. A tree was no good. Clutching the basket in her arms, she begun to blindly dash ahead, flinching at another thunderclap in the distance before noticing the trees thinning out. Had she somehow gotten back to the village--?

 

No. What was in front of her was a huge mansion. It didn’t look abandoned but it didn’t exactly look like it was in the best condition either. Pausing for a moment, she briefly wondered if it would be rude of her to enter a stranger’s house, but the heavy downpour of raining soaking her to her bones proved to be a point otherwise. Not wanting to waste any more time and increase the risk of catching a cold, Haruka made her way towards the doors, knocking once. 

 

No answer.

 

Knocking again.

 

No answer.

 

Was no one home? Reaching for the door knob, she turned it, surprised to find it unlocked. “Ah.. pardon the intrusion..” She called out, stepping into the building, safe and out of the rain. Placing the basket near the door, she took off her wet shoes, placing them next to the basket to dry. But.. it did feel awkward to know that someone hadn’t answered the door. Did no one really live here? She could see faint traces of dust over furniture as she wondered further into the manor. She’d entered in on a grand hallway and entrance way, both with staircases on either side along with hallways underneath, but what caught her attention were the large set of ornate double doors in between the stairs. Whatever it lead too, it gave off a strong vibe it lead to the heart of the mansion. 

 

There was no harm in exploring, was there?

 

Taking a deep breath, she made her way towards the doors, leaving a small trail of water as she wandered along, rain still dripping off her clothes. Hands reached up for the handles, pulling them open to reveal… a library. It wasn’t just any old library, but words could simply describe it as grand. The size of it could be compared to a ballroom, since it was so sheerly huge - shelves neatly organized into rows, said shelves almost being as tall as the ceiling. Piles of books were occasionally placed here and there, pages open as if someone had left them there and was going to return to reading them at some point. The room was lit with candles, although judging by what was left of the wax and wick, they had been burning for quite some time. All the curtains remained closed, keeping the place somewhat dim as candles were the only thing to provide light. There was a sense of a calm too, as if time had frozen in such a place. Haruka’s eyes widened in surprise as she made her way further into the room, fingers idly running over the spines of books on the shelves, reading the titles as she moved. Some of the stories she recognized, some seemed brand new, some even in languages she couldn’t read. Her attention drifted away from the books as soon enough she spied something yellow and glowing in the corner of the room. A fireplace, perhaps? As she got closer she could hear the crackling of wood which confirmed her suspicions. A few more steps and turning around the corner of a shelf, she stumbled upon a fireplace surrounded by two old and worn couches. But that wasn’t what caught her eye. 

 

The first thing she saw was the man sitting down on one of the sofas, head down as he seemed stuck in a book. “Excuse me.. Do you live here?” Her voice broke the silence in the room, taking a step back as the man reacted to that sound. 

 

Oh. He was  _ beautiful _ .

 

She’d only caught his side view, noting his pale skin and serious gaze, but now that he had lifted his head and turned to look at her, she gotten a better view of him. His hair was dark, like violets or charcoal, although it seemed to be somewhat messy with small flips, and the length proved it hadn’t exactly being trimmed in a while, which added some charm. He had the facial structure of what she could only describe as a very handsome man, but what pulled her in the most was his deep blue eyes, which looked as if they were a reflection of the night sky. But what was a calm expression at first was slowly twisting into a mixture of realization and surprise. The book he’d been reading was slammed shut, and he quickly stood up.

 

“What, exactly are you doing here?” He spoke, his voice almost cracking a little as if he hadn’t actually spoken in a long period of time. The male looked even more surprised upon hearing the sound of his own voice. “Ah, well.. It’s raining outside.. And..” She trailed off, her soaking clothes really doing the rest of the talking for her. That fireplace looked extremely inviting, actually now that she thought about it. 

 

Slowly, the stranger sat down on his seat again, seemingly calm despite his previous expressions. “I see. Well, you can sit by the fireplace then. But once the rain passes, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

 

This beautiful stranger wasn’t as inviting as his house looked to be. Carefully moving over to the other sofa, Haruka sat herself down, scooting as close to the fireplace as physically possible. She hadn’t realized how exactly  _ cold _ she was until she’d gotten near it. But that was odd, had the man been so absorbed into his book that he hadn't heard her at all? Judging by his reaction, he didn’t even notice the sound of the rain outside. That was some rather incredible concentration. She understood how invested one could get into books though, as she was guilty of doing the same on multiple occasions. 

 

“Tokiya.”

 

The sound of his voice snapped her out of it, and it took her a second to realize instead of staring at the fireplace, she had been staring directly at him. He had opened his book once again, reading over the pages, although he didn’t seem too invested into it as he was before, due to obvious reasons. “Right- You can call me Haruka! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tokiya.” She smiled towards him, not getting one in return. Oh dear.

 

Her gaze lowered down towards the book his hands instead, not wanting to exactly to be looked at with such a cool expression. Although once she read over the title she suddenly stood up, causing the man to flinch in response. “Sorry I-” She sat back down. “What’s wrong?” He sounded annoyed. “Actually… I read that book not too long ago, it has a really touching story. I admire how the protagonist’s friends are rather loyal to him.” She said simply, threading her fingers together as a smile grew on her lips. Tokiya’s eyes seemed to light up for a second, taking another moment as if he were carefully thinking about what his next string of words were going to be. 

 

“I have to agree with you.”

 

“O.. Oh?”

 

“Despite his anti-social behavior at the start of the book, I’m enjoying how he is coming out of his shell and how his friends are encouraging his growth..” 

 

“Yes- exactly!”

 

The rest of the night passed in a blur, the two of them discussing in depth the book he’d been reading. In fact, he also had the others in series, and would be reading them after he’d finished the first. Haruka promised not to spoil him on such things, but the conversation turned from that particular book to others with similar plots.

 

She didn’t even realize the rain had stopped.

 

She didn’t even realize it was morning until the last flames of the fire flickered out, and ribbons of light peeked through heavy curtains. 

 

Oh no - _ Grandmother! _ Cutting herself mid-sentence, she stood up, offering an apologetic look to Tokiya as he figured out what exactly she was doing. Right, she had somewhere to return too. “Thank you for your company, Tokiya! And ah, thank you for letting me stay by the fire and chat with you! I hope we can continue our conversation another day.” She beamed. “Right.. You’re welcome, Haruka.” He didn’t extend the offer for her to come again. For the most part, he would consider this visit a one off, a distraction that happened once in a blue moon. Staying on his seat, he watched as she backtracked her way out of the library, listening to the sound of the doors closing behind her with a familiar thud. The man sat there for several minutes in silence, finding him unable to bring himself back to his book. Instead, his gaze turned back to where the other had been sitting before, and his previous thoughts of her being a distraction seemed to fade away.

 

Actually, it had been nice talking to another person, after all.

 

\---

 

Despite being scolded by her grandmother for worrying her half to death due to being gone all night, and during an awful storm, once it was late afternoon, she was already packing a basket of some books and making her way back towards that mansion. It took her some time to find it again, since there was no obvious path, but once she spied the roof in the distance, she immediately dashed towards it. Knocking and letting herself in once again, since Tokiya hadn’t exactly seemed to be the type to get up and escort her to the door - surely he wouldn't answer it.

 

“Pardon the intrusion!” She called out to the empty hallway, looking down and noticing that some drops of water still remained from where she trailed them through yesterday. What an odd man.. Did he not leave the library? 

 

Making her way into said place, she walked through, noticing some of the piles had been tidied up, although as she got closer to the fireplace (in which the fire had been relit in), she was surprised to see they had simply been relocated to the sofas around it. And of course, on those sofas, sat Tokiya. In the same position he was in when she left him. The only thing that seemed different was that he was wearing a jacket over his black blouse today. 

 

“Good evening, Tokiya.” She spoke up, the man immediately snapping his attention over to her. Like yesterday, he seemed surprised to see her initially, before his expression turned into something serious and calm. “Good evening to you as well, Haruka… I didn’t expect you to be here.” He hadn’t expected her to come back in all honesty. He’d heard promises of returns several times, promises that were left broken and forgotten by both parties, building nothing but some distrust in him. Smiling somewhat shyly, Haruka held up the basket she’d brought along with her. “These are books I have at home.. I’m unsure if you have them but, their stories are rather powerful and magical to read..!” Tokiya paused for a moment, before then nodding his head towards where she sat yesterday, giving her silent permission to continue with where she was going.

 

Excitedly, albeit somewhat nervous - she sat down on her couch (could she even call it her couch?), moving to take out the books before noticing the one in his hand. 

 

“You’re already onto the second in the series?”

 

A small smile grew on the corners of his lips. “Yes, our conversation last night encouraged me to finish the previous novel and continue with the series.” 

 

Haruka’s eyes lit up with pure joy. 

 

And that was the moment in which he realized she might be stunning in her own way. 

 

\--- 

 

A routine began between the two of them, Haruka would visit him as often as she could, and spend several hours in the evening sitting in the library and discussing books with him before heading home as not to worry her grandmother. Soon enough they started to trade books, Tokiya lending her stories he’d recommending, and Haruka lending anything he didn’t have in his mammoth of a library. Occasionally the conversation would drift though, Haruka telling him stories about her day, about how the baker was deciding to become a butcher, or how travelling merchants passed through the small village and showed them all trinkets from cities she’d never seen. He would smile and listen to her, watching her get caught up in her own story telling, noticing how at times she’d accidentally make eye contact with him and stumble over her words, her cheeks dusting a soft pink. 

 

He wished his mind didn’t jump to something awful at the sight of that.

 

With the stories of trinkets, he would get up, escorting her through the library and taking her to books on the countries on the planet, the cultures and stories they had. He’d lend the books to her, and watch as she flicked through the pages, pointing at colourful pictures and asking him questions about them which he seemed to always have the answer on. Haruka wished to learn about the surrounding world, and he was happy to tell her the things he’d read in books, as long as she told him about what went on in the village, her own little world. There was a world he knew too, a place he hadn’t stepped out into in years, but he didn’t trust his own information. Were his experiences dated? Were they telling? 

 

Haruka found some of his habits odd, but she didn’t question them, just accepting they were part of who he was. Like for the fact he enjoyed to sit in darkness, his only light source being a few stray candles and the fire place. Or the fact he seemed to wear several layers, covering the better part of his pale skin. Occasionally she would catch him wearing gloves also. When they walked around the library, he always kept a distance from her. A perfect, set distance - and he would never get too close. 

 

As days turned into weeks, she was soon enough surprised to find the entrance hall spotless one evening. Her tone of voice sounding somewhat cheeky as she met the man in the library again. “Did you tidy up, Tokiya? It looks lovely.” She commented, catching a somewhat embarrassed look from the other before he straightened up. “I just thought it’d be nice.” He explained simply, before casually changing the flow of the conversation back to their regular topics. How smooth.

 

Over the course of the next week, whenever she had the chance to visit there were times where he was not in the library as usual, which sparked her curiosity to look around the house for him. But the manor - like it’s owner, was quiet, and she couldn’t find him until she had looped back around to the library, finding him awkwardly dusting off his jacket before then sitting down in his usual spot as if nothing were wrong. She didn’t dare to probe him, as she had the feeling he were up to something, so she remained quiet on the topic of said disappearances.

 

The week after that, Tokiya greeted her in the front hall - an odd first, but a welcome one. Haruka’s cheeks dusted red upon opening the door to see the man there, the homeowner then making a small ‘follow-me’ motion with his hands as he lead the way down one of the side halls before opening a set of doors that lead to a parlour. It’s decor matched that of the library, as well as the lighting. Candles and a huge fireplace being the only source of light, with dark curtains keeping the view of the outside out. She could smell tea sitting on a table by the sofas, but the place looked rather clean. Throwing a knowing look to Tokiya, he only grinned as a silent answer before escorting her to one sofa before then sitting on the other himself. “I thought.. That maybe it’d be a nice change of pace. That’s all.” Was how he explained himself. “Well, it’s lovely, thank you for showing me this place.” Haruka smiled, reaching to take the cup of tea as they settled down into their routine. 

 

Occasionally she would ask questions about himself, and with years of practice, he’d become rather good at dodging questions - even in a one on one conversation. Although there were some things he told her. Such as the huge greenhouse connected to the back of the mansion, in which he grew all sorts of fruits and vegetables. He kept track of their progress in journals which he showed her, Haruka finding herself unable to stop from giggling at some of the images drawn alongside each plant. “I didn’t expect you to be an artist as well, Tokiya!”

“Ah well.. It’s always been a small hobby of mine.”

 

One day she’d stumbled upon a book filled that turned out to be a sketchbook filled with drawings of all sorts of animals. She found the ones of the birds to be rather cute, but kept that thought to herself.

 

\---

 

Soon enough her visits became longer, until one night Haruka fell asleep whilst she had been reading. Book resting open on her lap, the pastel haired woman simply drifted to sleep, her companion only realizing she had done so once she toppled over to her side on the couch, unphased completely. Panicking, Tokiya had quickly sat up, concentration torn from his book before realizing she’d fallen asleep. Glancing to the grandfather clock in the room, he did note the time. It was late.. Once again the two of them had lost track of the time in each other’s company. 

 

He didn’t have the heart to wake her up, so he simply retrieved a clean blanket from another room, kneeling down gently beside her as he placed it atop the sleeping woman. He’d never been.. This close to her.. Upon some further reflection. He had kept his distance, and she had picked up on that and respected that. She was more beautiful up close, and he could feel his heart racing. Or at least, the ghost of that sensation. Carefully he moved his hand to brush some of her hair from her face, although he caught himself stopping before he even touched her, something in the back of his mind stopping him. If he brushed her hair aside.. 

 

No. He couldn’t do that. 

He had to stay away.

 

_ She couldn’t find out. _

 

**_He was just a monster._ **

 

\---

 

Haruka woke up to feeling the warmth of the sun on her face. Although it was nothing more than a thin ribbon of it, sunlight pushing through the curtains to try and illuminate the dark room. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up, noticing the blanket on her, her attention slowly drifting to the man on the other sofa in the room, quietly reading. He glanced up the moment she looked at him, her cheeks flushing a little as she then offered him a warm smile. “Ah.. good morning Tokiya.. If I may ask, were you responsible for..?” She gestured to the blanket, earning a nod from the other. “Yes Good morning to you as well… you seemed to be sleeping like a log.. I hope it wasn’t too bad of me not to wake you. Your grandmother must be worried, right?” He spoke, closing his book as he stood up. Shaking her head, Haruka let out a small laugh. “Grandmother has already picked up that I’m visiting someone every night - I don’t think she’ll be too surprised to know I’ve fallen asleep here!” She told him, removing the blanket as she walked towards the windows. Admittedly she was a little embarrassed to have fallen asleep in such a place, but she couldn’t let him know. 

 

Tokiya’s gaze idly followed the woman as she made her way to the curtains, hands grabbing onto the fabric as she slowly pulled them apart, allowing sunlight to spill into the room. Quickly, on instinct, the dark haired man started to back up into the shadows of the room whilst her back still remained turned, standing there quietly as he watched her turn around with a bright grin on her face. “Isn’t the morning sun just beautiful?” She beamed, watching for his reaction - not exactly awake enough to pick up on the fact he’d moved in that small amount of time. 

 

There was a moment of silence as she stood there, bathed in the morning sunlight with a smile on her face, the man rendered silent for a moment before he allowed a small smile to grace his own face. He wasn’t looking at the sunlight though, or the world outside, his gaze directly forward.

 

“Absolutely stunning.”

 

\---

 

It was about two days until the next time Haruka visited the mansion, the woman slightly surprised to be greeted by a somewhat.. Nervous Tokiya. For some reason she found it rather cute, a break in the shell the man seemingly surrounded himself in. “Follow me.” He didn’t make an effort for hellos, but she was curious to see why he’d ended in this sort of state, following him as he made his way towards the upper floor of the manor, pushing open one of the first doors that appeared along that hallway.

 

It was a bedroom. A large, canopy bed sat as the centerpiece of the room, curtains tied up to reveal the sheets to be looking clean, albeit somewhat fancy, as if nobles used to rest on them. There were several shelves, some filled with books (obviously more of his collection that didn’t fit in the library), and some knick-knacks such as porcelain figures or statues of different animals. A closet sat in the corner of the room, and she would later find it contained two white nightgowns. For now though, she stood in the doorframe, jaw dropping a little before she closed her mouth and took some steps into the room, turning to Tokiya to look for an answer. “I…” He pauses, taking a moment to regain his composure. “I thought.. Since you slept here the other evening.. A bed would be a more suitable place to sleep than a couch. You also mentioned your grandmother not minding so.. I took it upon myself… to tidy up this place for you.” His hand had drifted to cover the lower half of his face, deep blue eyes averting her looks in embarrassment. Her own cheeks flushed red for a moment, turning to look back at the room before nodding and speaking up. ”Yes!  I mean, ah, I accept your offer, Tokiya! I promise to be a good house guest if I ever need to stay over for the night.” She said, clapping her hands together. The dark haired man looked back at her for a moment before.. Letting out a soft chuckle. “You’re already a wonderful house guest, Haruka.”

 

That was the first time she’d heard him laugh. 

 

She felt as if she was finding more about him as their conversations started to drift away more from books over time. Every now and then, she’d find herself having permission to be in a new room of the mansion, each time the room was stunning, and clean. As if he’d spent all the time before she came over cleaning it - which was true. Whilst she knew he ate the vegetables he grew, occasionally she’d bring him food from the village, bread, grains, rice, anything that could last for a while and would keep him fed. The physical distance between them got smaller too, although they would never touch each other, or sit upon the same sofa, but they were more used to walking alongside each other; or the nights where they stood on the balcony overlooking the forest, they were fine with standing next to each other. 

 

The house which was dirty and what he considered a place where he just simply  _ ‘existed’ _ ... it was turning into a home. With Haruka’s presence, this place was becoming somewhere he didn’t mind being after all. He wanted to make it look nice for the first time in years, he wanted to make her feel welcome each time she stepped through the front doors, smiling and sparkling in moonlight. Soon enough he was digging through old gifts he hadn’t touched in a while. Packets of flower seeds given to him by an eccentric male with ginger hair upon learning about his gardening habits all the while ago. “I’m sure they’ll come in useful  _ someday _ , Icchi.” He’d said. He didn’t want to think about where that man was now.

 

Either way, what he’d said had come true, Tokiya starting a little project in a free corner of his greenhouse, planting the collection of flower seeds, starting a journal to keep track of their growth. Just a few weeks, that’s all he had to keep it a secret for. 

 

\---

Except he struggled to keep his excitement upon the night the flowers were due to bloom. Haruka had noted he seemed antsy again, and both of them were surprised by his forwardness when he asked she stay over that particular night. She had accepted, but once he did ask the question initially, they both got embarrassed and looked away from each other.

 

“Haruka, it’s time.” 

 

“Pardon me?” She blinked when he said that as she walked through the door, noticing the larger than usual smile on his face. In one hand he was gripping onto a journal, something she had noticed him carrying around for the past few weeks, but avoided questioning. But her curiosity had being piqued, the pastel haired woman tilting her head to the side. “I can’t explain it- here! Come see, I’ll show you!” He sounded almost childish, moving closer to her. “You  _ have _ to see this!” Taking one of her hands in his own gloved one, he quickly started to make his way towards the greenhouse; Haruka excitedly following after his lead. It was rare to see him so excited, and she couldn’t help but he caught up in the moment. 

 

It only took them a few minutes to get through the maze of rooms, but soon enough they stepped into his grand greenhouse, Haruka looking around in awe. This place was well cared for, and every fruit, vegetable and herb had been carefully labelled. But he was tugging her towards a corner, in which she immediately recognized the collection of flowers. Jessamines, primroses, moon flowers.. Orchids.. She knew these from some of the flower book she’d flicked through, and she knew they bloomed at night. In that moment he let go of her hand, Haruka looking over at him as she let her hand drop to her side before realizing what had just happened. They didn’t say anything.

 

Instead, they silently stood there as they watched the flowers bloom, bright colours and soft pastels filling up the corner of the greenhouse. It was beautiful, and surely something they would both remember for some time. Although, there were other reasons they would remember that night.

 

Once all the flowers had bloomed and they chatted there for another hour or two, Tokiya telling her he’d been following their growth, timing it to show her, and briefly brushing over the fact he had friends outside this place and not going further despite her questioning - Haruka had moved to her bedroom to sleep for the night, burying her face into her pillow as she felt her face heat up more than usual. She’d.. Held hands with him! How she wished she’d been paying slightly more attention, but it was comfortable. It was a grip of someone she trusted.

 

Meanwhile, Tokiya had mentally scolded himself. Remaining in his greenhouse, he looked over towards the window connected to her bedroom, a slightly pained expression on his face. He’d broken one of his own rules.

 

Don’t get too close to humans. 

 

But.. maybe.. Just  _ maybe _ …. 

 

\---

 

Haruka didn’t bring up the hand holding incident again, instead going on about the flowers the next morning at breakfast. Tokiya let out an internal sigh of relief as the topic didn’t rise again, calming down somewhat as he offered to press some of the flowers for her. He could turn them into bookmarks which she could use for reading. Smiling happily, she accepted his offer - oh, as long as he taught her the technique in the process. 

 

Things continued to move like clockwork again, although they both tried to make a somewhat active effort to get closer to one another. Sometimes conversations would turn into reading books together whilst sitting on her bed, or sitting on the same sofa together instead of their respective ones. Haruka would start to help in the greenhouse, and occasionally she’d bring some of his harvest back to her grandmother. The old woman laughed once as Haruka had rolled up early in the morning, mud on her cheek. “Haru.. you look like someone’s cute housewife.” She’d said, earning a flustered grand-daughter almost spilling carrots all over the kitchen floor. 

 

\---

 

There were a few close-calls. That was what he called them. Whilst he was getting close to Haruka; he wasn’t getting  _ close _ . He couldn’t bring himself to touch her again, and his paranoia was getting obvious. But he couldn’t calm himself down, there were several desperate attempts of him diving into fantasy books to take his mind off it, but he couldn’t shake off how utterly _ terrified _ he was. What if she found out? What if he did something he couldn’t take back? How would she even…

 

Haruka caught onto his actions. It didn’t take her long, the pastel haired woman decided to comfort him that night when she visited. Surely something was bothering him - and it was safe to admit they were very good friends at this point, so she could offer her help.  

 

\---

 

He was in the library that evening, standing in one of the corners as his fingers traced over spines, lips moving as he read the names without letting a sound escape his mouth. Remaining positive, she made her way over to him, smiling in greeting. “Tokiya -” He immediately snapped his head over to look at her, eyes widening for a moment. “Haruka, hello - I didn’t hear you enter.” He said, his voice sounding lower than usual. Taking careful steps closer to him, she held out a hand. “Tokiya, I’ve been noticing lately - is something-” She doesn’t finish her sentence, as in a blink of an eye, the dark haired male has quickly backed up, his back almost hitting the nearest wall. 

 

There’s an awkward silence for a moment, as she hasn’t exactly known what has gone wrong. She was careful, right? There’s a moment where she blames herself for his actions. She did make the first contact with him by entering his house without his permission. But.. weren’t things going so well? What had caused this irregular behaviour to spike? What happened? 

 

He continues to move backwards, his back now pressing up against the wall. He’s panicking. It’s like something has caught in his throat and he can’t speak. Did she somehow figure out? He’d been careless lately. Tokiya’s mind started to spin as he recalled everything in which his secret could slip out. What was it? What was the defining thing that got her to know? But oh no.. her expression. He’s never seen her look so hurt before.

 

Awkwardly, he manages to gather his resolve, standing up straight before realizing he can smell something.

 

**Her.**

 

No, No. Don’t even _ think  _ about it.  _ Ignore it _ . “I.. I apologize.. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.” He says, trying to avoid grinding his teeth together. But.. her heart is racing. He had unintentionally got it to race. Of course he had sensed it before, but today it was worse.

 

And he’d made the mistake of starving himself as of late. 

 

“Tokiya- It’s okay- Tokiya?” He barely registers her words as his hand moves to cover his mouth, fangs starting to grow. She couldn’t see. She didn’t know - he’d quickly pieced that together. She was just worried. Thank gods. Haruka just cared so much, it made her so beautiful. So delicious -

 

**_No!_ **

 

“ _ Tokiya _ !” Her voice is dripping in concern as she steps forward, unable to help her nature to worry about someone she cares about. He squeezes his eyes shut, stepping back as she moves forward on instinct, his free arm shooting forward and grabbing her own arm to stop her from getting closer. Shit. 

 

“Haruka I-” His grip tightens on her arm a little as he is torn between letting go and pulling her closer - his voice muffled by his hand over his mouth, alongside his growing fangs. Haruka finds herself speechless, words muffled in her mind as she tries to pick at the ones to say to him, the heat of the moment catching up with her as she realizes how close they are, her heart hammering louder in her chest. But, she can’t focus on that - no, something is clearly wrong - and she will get to the bottom of this. 

 

“Tokiya, if something is bothering you, it’s fine. You can tell me.” She speaks in a reassuring tone, trying to defuse the situation and help him calm down. “You know you can talk to me about anything.” 

 

He averts his gaze for the time being, and decides against the better part of himself to pull her closer. Part of him had been longing for this moment but the horrible, raw predator instinct in him grows stronger by the second - they had been so, so careful. He'd done his best to hide who he was, and yet in this small moment, in this rash action he was undoing all his hard work. "Tokiya--?" Haruka's voice snaps him out of it, the male looking down to see what was a concerned expression taking over the reassuring look that was there before. Although he struggles to focus on anything that isn't her neck, anything that isn't exposed skin, something he can sink his teeth into. 

 

Had she somehow misread this particular scene though? Her own head is still spinning, there’s a part of her that's somehow envisioned this moment; being so close to him, and yet at the same time, something is  **very** off - and now he’s looking straight at her, and she’s left speechless. 

 

Something carnal gets the better of him though, and he wraps an arm to support her back as he leans down, appearing to go into what could've been a kiss. "I...  apologize in advance." He murmurs, Haruka just barely managing to catch that before getting one last look at his expression, seeing that his usual beautiful and calm eyes were glowing red. "T-" Her words are cut off by her own sharp gasp as he misses her lips entirely, sinking his teeth into her neck.

 

Ah.

 

There were rumours.. **_Of the_ ** **vampire** **_in the woods_ ** .

 

\---

 

Of course the first instinct is to immediately struggle against it, but since she wasn't exactly physically strong, and she hadn't the best health, after all, it doesn't take her too long until she faints in his arms.

 

Meanwhile, he had been so focused on drinking he hadn't even noticed her reactions until she fell limp. Immediately he backpedals, moving his head away as his eyes flicker back to cool blue. " _ Haruka _ ..?" She's not dead, but the guilt he feels is absolutely incredible. He can't keep her around anymore, absolutely not. 

 

He was dangerous.

 

**A monster.**

 

And that was why he'd voluntarily locked himself away for so long, using the worlds of fiction as his distraction from reality. But what he'd done was unforgivable. He didn't have any first aid to close the wound (after all, he was a vampire, and they healed rather quickly), he moved quickly, wrapping a scarf around her neck to hide the bites before donning a jacket and carrying Haruka, still asleep in his arms. 

 

For the first time in over a number of years, he stepped out of his house. He knew the scent of the forest, and more importantly, he knew the scent of Haruka, even more so now that he'd drunk her blood. It was early morning now, so he had to move fast, tracing his way back through the forest to the village, clutching the woman in his arms as if she were a delicate treasure he couldn't afford to drop. It'd been a while so he wasn't as fast as he desired, but after a few hours he'd finally gotten to the village. 

 

Despite better judgement he got into her home through the back door, being careful not to disturb her grandmother before placing her down on the bed and turning to leave. "T..Tokiya.." He freezes in his tracks as he hears her voice, turning his head to see the sleepy girl open her eyes. His heart could almost burst from a variety of feelings, but he knew better than to show them. He was just.. grateful she was okay. "Tokiya is that-" " **Haruka** ." He speaks in a firm voice, turning his head to look forward, back facing her. "I'm sorry, don't come by ever again." And he exits the way he came, ignoring the sounds of her scrambling after him, only to awkwardly try and get her balance. He's running out of night, and he had to return quickly. The sun.. had never agreed with him after all. They were _ incompatible _ . 

 

He should have followed his own rules.

\---

Night had already fallen by the time Haruka came too. She had somehow managed to make it back onto her bed (obviously through the help of her grandmother) but otherwise remained wearing the clothes from the previous night. 

 

_ The previous night… _

 

Everything suddenly came rushing back at her, and before she knew it, she made her way out of the bed and onto her feet. This had to be sorted, she couldn’t let something like this end at the drop of a hat. The past several months had been a special experience for her. Before that.. Life seemed to be something that had passed her by. She was sickly, and didn’t get out much, but over time, over her travels back and forth towards that place, she’d started to feel more alive than ever. Ironic, considering that man.. Probably wasn’t alive in the first place. 

 

Sneaking out of the house had become routine, but before she could even make it out the back door, a familiar hand gripped her shoulder, causing her to turn around. “Grandmother..” Ah, did she really sound that bad? “Haruka- I can’t stop you but, before you leave, here.” A basket was held out in offering, the pastel haired woman lifting the blanket atop it and seeing what was underneath. A collection of ointments and first aid? And some food.. Fresh bread and jars of jam. Smiling softly, she accepted the basket, rubbing the corner of her eyes as her grandmother pulled her in for a hug. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but take care. I know he’s important to you - so I’m sure you’ll work this out.” She reassured the other, patting her granddaughter’s head before letting her go. Haruka nodded slowly, opening the door. “Thank you, Grandmother..! He is important to me!” 

 

And with that, she quickly ran into the woods.

 

\---

 

Clutching the basket close to her chest, her hands clumsily fumbled with the knob on the door. Locked? It was locked. His door had always been unlocked. Even before she arrived here, he’d mentioned in passing he just left it that way since visitors had never come by before. If they ever did, they usually didn’t make it past the grand entrance before turning around. Eventually she begun to knock on the door, although to no avail. There was no answer. He was actively ignoring her. 

 

She wouldn’t accept such a miserable fate, remembering an unlocked window. She had stumbled upon it one morning whilst she was the only one awake in the mansion. Her legs still ache, and her neck stings, and she swears it’s getting worse despite being somewhat bearable when she woke up. Was it because she was closer to it’s source? She’ll never know. Thankfully she did find the window, opening it up with her free hand before leaning in and placing the basket on the floor next to it before climbing the rest of the way in herself. Her landing was a little clumsy but that was to be expected. 

 

On her feet again, Haruka starts to explore the mansion, looking in all the places in which they previously spent time together. But.. he was nowhere to be found. Surely, he had to be somewhere. She didn’t dare have the courage to test his room, but possibly….

 

That was where she then found him. Although she almost could have missed him at first. Opening the door to her room, she was greeted with pitch black. No candles lit, and the curtains shut tight, not allowing any moonlight to creep in. He himself… was very quiet too. Did vampires breathe? She hadn’t noticed that. She takes a step further in, lights from the hallway spilling into the room, and that was how she noticed him. Huddled in the corner, back turned. 

 

He looked scared.

 

Of himself.

 

Catching her breath, she slowly takes steps over to him, noticing as he remains unmoving the entire time. Tokiya gives her no reactions in the slightest, staying as still as a statue. Words are caught in her throat and she can’t bring herself to speak yet, instead just opting to kneel down in front of him, stopping for a split second before then moving forward and wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace. Now he reacts, letting out a sharp gasp before leaning his head forward, resting it on her shoulder. She idly notes that his skin is somewhat warm. His arms remain at his sides for now, stopping himself from making any further mistakes. It takes him a moment but he does speak up. “You… You shouldn’t have come.” The sound of his voice could break her heart. She instead shakes her head softly, smiling at him in the darkness. 

 

“But I did.” She tells him, holding him tighter. Tokiya then lifts his arms, pulling her closer to him. 

 

\---

 

Time passes. It’s hard to tell if it goes by quickly or slowly, maybe hours went by, or minutes. Either way, the two of them remained like that for quite some time, reaffirming to each other that they were there for one another, all without saying a word. 

 

Eventually moonlight starts to creep through the gaps in the curtains, bringing some light to the room. Tokiya eventually lets go of her, sitting up straight as he takes her hands in his own - it is only then in which she  _ feels _ them for the first time; they’re cold - and looks her in the eyes. Even in the terrible lighting of the room she can pick out all the stunning shades of blue in his eyes, as he can see the reflection of the sun in her own. “I’m sorry-” And out tumble multiple apologies, his expression pained as he strings them out to her. She interrupts him though, upon noticing several dark red streaks along his face, something that clashes arrogantly with his pale skin. She moves her hands out of his and puts them on his cheeks, forcing him to look at her as his gaze quickly moves away. Embarrassed? “Tokiya - what happened to your face?” They’re hot to the touch. She thought he was just flustered, or mad but.. Was this the cause? He seems to pause for a moment before looking back at her. “It’s sunburn… I couldn’t make it back in time before..” “T-” “It’s fine, really.. It will fade away after a while.” 

 

She shakes her head, standing herself up. “Come on, we’re cleaning you up.” And like that - it’s almost as if things were back to some normalcy. “Excuse me?” He looks puzzled, but allows himself to be pulled up, following her lead towards the bathroom. He could easily put two and two together but let her take the lead for now. 

 

As they wander through the lit hallways, she notices more burn flares on his skin, actually; on any bit of exposed skin there seems to be some sort of marking. Had he really been in pain that long? She can’t help but feel her heart drop in her chest at the thought of that. 

 

Soon enough they do make it to the bathroom, Haruka fiddling with the taps to fill the tub with cold water, Tokiya awkwardly standing beside her. “Ah- you should probably take your clothes off.” She says before then catching herself, the two of them looking away for a split second in embarrassment. “I mean-” She coughs to clear her throat. “Cold water is the best way to deal with burns so, if you soak in this and keep water running you’ll feel better.” There, a better explanation. He simply nods, starting to undress, although wincing at the pain the sensation of fabric gives him. There’s a moment when he realizes Haruka’s hands hadn’t bothered him. Huh. 

 

Haruka quickly realizes what situation has been created, turning her back to him once the tub is filled. She feels as if she’s forgetting something important… grandmother’s gift! Waiting until she hears the water stirr behind her as a sign of him getting into the tub, she then speaks up. “Stay right here, okay? I’ll be right back!” There’s some confidence in her voice now, and she makes her exit whilst leaving him there. He won’t go anywhere though.

 

Leaving him to soak, Haruka retrieves the basket from the window she’d abandoned it by, as well as stopping by to his room. She had yet to be in there, and wasn’t surprised to see it looking like a condensed version of the library just with a bed instead of the fireplace nook. How long had he been collecting books for.. She’d never know. Easily enough she found his closet, getting him some new clothes before looping back into the bathroom. The brightness of the burns had faded since last, and he seemed relatively calmer now - although he did sink down a little in the water when she walked back in. “Ah.. I got you some clothes and..” She puts the clothes down and then the basket before rummaging around it and pulling out some ointments. “This is good for burns and such.” She explains, making her way over to the edge of the tub. Not too close though, just enough. Making a motion to make him give her his hand, Tokiya obeys, offering his arm out to Haruka. She starts applying the ointment on, the both of them staying silent as she proceeds to do this with his other arm, and eventually his neck and face. 

 

“There..” She smiles softly, standing up to put it away before then he grabs her arm. “Huh?” Turning to look back at him, she kneels beside the tub once more. “You’re hurt too, right?” There’s an unspoken ‘because of me’ tracing off the end of that. Her hand immediately moves to the scarf around her neck, hesitating for a moment before then tugging it off. It isn’t exactly as bad as it looks, as he never was a messy eater, but the puncture marks are obvious. He looks hurt as he stares directly at them, apologizing once more. Haruka shakes her head, wrapping the scarf back around her neck. “Just take care of yourself for now. I’ll wait outside as you get dressed, okay?” She smiles again, almost feeling.. For a moment, just a second. She would have liked to kiss his forehead to reassure him. But that small thought is a little awkward of her to pull off, so she stands up and leaves, moving into the sitting room to wait for him.

 

\---

 

She isn’t exactly waiting for long, the vampire meeting her in the sitting room several moments later, carrying her basket in one hand and a tray with hot tea in the other, placing them both of them gently on the table in front of her. She idly notes the casualness in which he has dressed as. Usually he seemed to be very decisive with his fashion decisions, but for now it seemed a little laid back. He wasn’t wearing his gloves for one, and the first few buttons on his shirt remained open, allowing for his collar area to be somewhat exposed. His hair too, usually tied up into a ponytail was down, and for a split second he looked a little wild. Although, on any piece of exposed skin he had there were red marks still there. At the end of the day he’d just dressed purposefully again. 

 

Tokiya remained standing there for a moment, as if calculating on what to say before taking  a seat beside her, much to her surprise. “Oh.. Tokiya..?” She speaks up, earning a small shush from the other. “Just sit still, okay?” He says, moving to remove the scarf from her neck once more. Nodding slowly, she remains sitting still as he goes through the process of cleaning the wound he’d left behind with some slave left in the basket (which he was just going to call a makeshift first aid kit - he’d picked up on the fact her grandmother prepared this; he had caught a glance of her when he escaped that morning), before then applying a bandage over it and adjusting her clothes so they didn’t look so out of place. He might have taken more time then intended, as his fingers had stopped for a moment as they brushed over the wound, feeling a sharp pang of guilt strike him. He felt awful for letting such a side get the better of him, and despite her constant refirmations he didn’t think he would be getting over such an incident so soon. 

 

Mean the while Haruka stood as still as she could, although she tensed up upon feeling his fingers work, the mark seemingly feeling more intense than it had before. She was suddenly  _ aware _ of how close exactly they were. He notices the tips of her ears flush pink in embarrassment. The sound of her heart doesn’t make him hungry anymore, but he makes him feel _ warm _ . That was how he could describe the feeling.. Warm and comforting. Surely there was more to it, but other complicated emotions filled his mind, dragging him down mentally. 

 

Once he is all done, he reaches over and picks up both the teacups, giving one to Haruka whilst holding the other for himself. There’s a moment of silence as the two of them wonder exactly what to say. He breaks the silence first, his voice sounding almost similar to the first time she heard him speak, like he hadn’t said anything in a long time. “Why.. exactly did you come back? Knowing what I am? And What I did to you-” No amount of apologies could make him feel better. She glances down at her drink for a moment, fingers tightening their grip as she thinks to herself before looking up at him, staring him in the eyes. “I wanted to come back.. I can’t exactly explain it.. But I wanted to come back here, I  _ knew  _ I had too. I… I wanted to see you.” 

 

The confidence in her voice makes his heart feel like it’s racing for the first time in years.

 

\---

 

It doesn’t take them long to easily slip back into usual conversation, although all the questions are directed at him - it’s to be deserved, the floodgates had opened and she deserved to know. The first thing he confirms is that he’s really a vampire. She’d read about them in books growing up, and there was the rumour that floated around the town, but as she’d gotten older Haruka had thought it to be just a way to stop children from running into the forest. The curious side of her kind of wants to see his fangs again, but the common sense side of her stops her from even letting the idea grow further than a passing thought. 

 

“If I may ask.. What do you usually do...to eat?” As she asks that she feels a sharp pain in her neck from the bite. As if asking that had delivered her a slap on the wrist. He seems to tense up for a moment, looking for the right words. “I don’t enjoy the act… so when I get the urge I usually wait for time to pass.” That somewhat explained his attitude before the whole incident. “If need be, there’s several rabbit traps around the mansion and I’ll have what is caught in those.” His greenhouse was a huge target for rabbits, either way. She’s quiet in response, taking a tentative sip of her tea. Well, he didn’t have any other choices at the end of the day, did he? “I’ve tried alternatives.. Such as tomato juice on several occasions. But it’s rather.. Savoury.” Actually she had noticed he was growing a lot of tomatoes. “I see….” The conversation goes quiet again.

 

“How… long have you been like this…?”

“Too long.”

 

He’s quick to answer but that was all he could say. 

 

“Doesn’t it get lonely?”

 

His gaze moves over to hers, as he’d been exactly avoiding looking at her directly the whole time. Tokiya looks somewhat surprised to hear that, although there’s a mixture of hurt and sadness on his face as well. His expression answered her question enough. Carefully, she places her cup down on the table beside them, sliding closer to him on the sofa before putting both her hands over his own. “Haruka…” His voice trails off, unable to form words to say. She closes her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before giving his hands a small squeeze and looking up at him. Her eyes are glossed over vaguely, as if she were about to cry. Despite that though, her lips had curled into a warm smile. “I.. I don’t want you to be lonely anymore, Tokiya.” She doesn’t want to ask him how sad it was. She didn’t want to ask him how long he’d been feeling that way. She didn’t want him to dwell on sad thoughts any longer. “I want.. To be here for you. I don’t care what you are - it’s  _ who _ you are that matters to me--” Tears start to escape the corners of her eyes, and before she could finish what she was saying, he had moved to wrap his arms around her body, letting her bury her head into his shoulder. Sure, it stung a little, but his mind wasn’t exactly worrying about that right now.

 

“It’s the same for me, Haruka.” He says softly, feeling her arms wrap around his waist as she clings to him. “I didn’t realize how lonely I was until I met you - I was just passing my days mindlessly reading. Diving into other worlds so I didn’t need to worry about my own. You arriving here was like that thunderstorm, sudden.. But powerful.” He pulls her closer, hearing her muffled sobs against his skin. “And once that passed, you were like a ray of sunshine in my dark world, brightening up every aspect of it with your presence.. I can’t.. I cannot thank you enough. You taught me so many things that books couldn’t. You taught me how to  _ feel  _ again.” He almost feels like crying too. “Tokiya…” She sits up, and he moves to brush the tears away from her face. She still remains smiling despite it all, and once her tears are gone, she leans in, pressing a soft kiss on his forehead. 

 

“Thank you.”

 

She could have sworn his face became more red than it already was.

\---

 

Haruka remained with him in the mansion for the next several days as he recovered, surprised to see his vampiric healing in action. The distance that existed before had disappeared altogether, and she’d slightly adjusted her sleeping pattern to suit his own, although sometimes when she couldn’t sleep during the day she’d tidy up around the mansion or look after his plants for him. 

 

Eventually she did have to go home though, as there was no way in which she could stay at his place for so long without worrying her grandmother, but she did find saying goodbye to be a hard thing to do. They mutually agreed to head back to the village together once it was dark, walking through the forest. At some point as they were walking together, their hands became intertwined, Haruka giggling as she noticed Tokiya’s embarrassed expression as he looked away when she glanced up. 

 

“It’s funny.. Who knew that one day when I was walking around here would lead me to your home.” She says as they move along. He chuckled a little upon hearing that. “I didn’t expect my home to be found so easily, but I do think of that day to be rather special, looking back at it.” She blushed a little as he said that smiling even more so. “It’s special to me too.” She replied, realizing then that his steps had slowed down, and that he was coming to a stop. Matching his pace, she’d stopped also. “Tokiya?” 

 

“Haruka..” He starts, moving to take both her hands in his own. “I know it may seem like an odd offer to give you, considering the current situation but…” He takes a deep breath. She’d picked up this was something he’d started to do when he became nervous or flustered. Blood didn’t flow to his cheeks, so he expressed embarrassment in other ways. “Haruka Nanami. You’re my sunlight, and you’ve taught me many things over the past months. I want you to live with me, if you want too - because.” He’d been going over this speech in his head for the past few days and now he was almost tripping over himself mentally. Her reaction so far had been heart pounding. The small look of confusion had been replaced by her glowing smile, her cheeks lighting up a faint pink, a shade in which he’d come to admire. In fact.. No. He’d come to love. 

 

“I love you.”

 

Haruka looked at him for a moment, voice getting caught in her throat as her eyes shone as if she were about to cry. He felt his heart sink before she then moved a hand to wipe the corner of her eyes, smiling so much it almost hurt her cheeks. “Tokiya… I didn’t know.. But for some reason I’ve been wanting to hear those words for a long time.” She says, her voice cracking a little. “Does--” He doesn’t finish. “I love you too.” 

 

He can’t help himself, overwhelmed by emotions he laughs with her before pulling her into a close hug. He repeats those three words to her over and over, Haruka repeating them back. The forest simply is filled with their laughter and happiness, and for the first time in a long time, he doesn’t feel like a monster anymore.

 

He feels like himself.

 

\---

 

There’s still a vampire who lives in the woods. Although years have passed, and a path has been built that leads to his house. It’s unlikely anyone will see the vampire though, for instead most guests are greeted by a woman with a personality that can be described as a ray of sunshine. The way she talks about the vampire makes him seem more human than monster, so the bad rumours soon faded away into history. 

 

The relationship between the two? Matching rings on both their fingers do a good explanation, but that’s a story for another time. 

**Author's Note:**

> wheres my tokiharu content, utapri fandom  
> ill make it myself if i have to
> 
> Shout out to Koto for helping me through this!


End file.
